STOPPAGE OF BLEEDING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 37, 8 January 1946, Page 6

STOPPAGE OF BLEEDING

(By the Department of Health). Five minutes’ iirm pressure with a clean pad at the point of bleeding will in nine cases out of ten cheek a How of blood.

After that the pressure can lie gradually eased, and finally discontinued, but the pad should not be taken away. At the sign of further bleeding the pressure should be applied for another five minutes and it must be. firm and even. As long as this is done there will be no serious danger to the patient, and only in a few eases will it be necessary to maintain pressure until skilled help arrives.

Straightforward first aid treatment of this nature is liable to be required at any lime—in the home the factory or on the highway. Keep a clear head. Don’t be scared by a lot of blood. Remember that a small cut or abrasion can often make a simple accident look like a ncartragedy. When you have managed to stop bleeding by the. direct pressure method leave the pressui’e pad where it is, and bind the wound firmly but not too tightly. Sometimes a large, blood vessel may lie damaged. This calls for different treatment. If the bleeding does not stop after ten minutes of firm pressure, other means of clos. ing the blond vessel will lie necessary.

If the bleeding is coining from a wound in the. arm or leg, get a nec'ktic or handkerchief tic it. loosely round the limb several inches away from the wound and nearer the heart. Insert a stick and twist the handkerchief until it grips the arm or leg very tightly. This is known as a tourniquet and it is the most effective means of stopping excessive/ bleeding. It may lie eased now and again, but, even if the bleeding lias stopped, do not remove it entirely in case it’s wanted again. On no account should a tourniquet he maintained at full pressure for more than 15 minutes at a time. When the bleeding is coming from a part of the body where a tourniquet is impossible, such as the neck or head the only thing to do is to keep the pressure pad method until a doctor arrives.

THE THIN CHILD (By lhe Department of Health) Many mothers of plump babies are very disappointed when the avcllcoA'crcd baby turns into a poorlyfleshed child. They take their Avorry to their doctor avlio examines the thin youngster finds nothing Avrong physically, and says so. But mother goes on AA'orrying just the same.

The thin child under discussion uoav is not the one who gets too little milk each day and goes short of protective, and body-building foods. He eats the balanced diet, and Lhe doctor says he hasn’t any disease. He’s just constitutionally thin, and has stayed thin like this since baby days. It may lie the child is unable to use up fat properly, and is overactive highly strung, nlAvavs expending too much energy. He’s on tlie go the lh'clong day. The. upshot is. the food taken in just about balances the output of energy. Trying to build the. child up with milk, butter or eggs brings on a billious turn—too rich foods induce gastric attacks. But that building up is Avhat is wanted —a state where there is a surplus of food intake over the burning-up process in the body.

As these children can’t deal with extra food, the problem reduces ibself to cutting doAvn the child’s energy expenditure till, Avith his usual moderate consumption of food, lie comes out with a balance on the right side begins to put on flesh and.thrive. There’s only one Avay to flo this. ConserA’c his energy by shortening his day. The easiest Avay is to introduce a rest period. This is clone at health camps and is one of the secrets why children thrive there.

Pre-school children of 3, 4 or 5 years find all day on their legs too much and do better when a morning and afternoon rest spell is instituted or at least one good long spell of two hours or more. Thin children, otherwise healthy, often respond to. tliis simple remedy—a day time rest. Try it and sec Avhat happens.